Wrapping and folding machines



Dec. 18, 1956 1 Q FQRSTER 2,774,205

WRPPING AND FOLDING MACHINES Filed Jan. 2, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet l /NVENToR a3/ m LMA, m A, `TTORNEY5 Dec. 18, 1956 G. FoRsTER WRAPPING AND FOLDING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed`Jan.. 2, 1953 NVENTOR mh M2M BY L' Q ZAM/M ATTRNEYJ Dec. 18, 1956 L, G. FORSTER WRAPPING AND FOLDING MACHINES Filed Jan. 2. 1955 5 Shees-Sheet 3 NVENTOR *71m 1L ATTORNEYJ- Dec. 18, 1956 FQRSTER` 2,774,205

WRAPPING AND FOLDING MACHINES File'd Jan. 2, -1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 /NVENroR JL M9@ fwiwm Dec. 1s, 1956 Filed Jan. 2, 1953 [lill L. G. FORSTER WRAPPING AND FOLDING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet' 5 v l l u. Q

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ATTRNEYS LesiieGordon 'Eea-ster,V Ealing, .LondemfEngland 'assigner f Ato 'Frstrs Machine Cninpany '.Linited,Y Hayes; England, :incorporation ofGreat Britain A'ppiic'ation-January 2, .1953,.Serial1Na 3293.95y

'sf'Claims (Cli sse-522e) Y This inventionirelat'e's to wrappingmachines-:or coveringzarticles Withj-'th'in material. Vsuchza's paper, cellulosey orthellikeof the kind iniwhichpthe'articiesiare moved at spacedr'interval'salonggthe bed of; the. machine andthey several wrapping andv foldingi operations oni eachf article.-

are carried out in successioni Thezfinvention refers particularly to the fgeneral lay-out and direction-of the hedgto the' direction of progression through. the machinerof'the articles to be' folded; and toassociated constructional features. V

Il have'. disclosed in.y certain prior applications? several' constructionsV relating to thevarious characteristics of :a-

machine oi this kind having: anapproximately horizontal bed, the articles being rn'eved bya conveyor along the; bed,while the several oper-ations of cutting orfa lengthof` wrappingmaterial, tuclring and folding -the sides, andingr 'art'icle's in succession along a heden which the articles.

are supported, 'the mechanism beingflocated below the be'd. The mechanism includes an endless chain running, over sprockets' 'orpl'llley's located adjacent theereceving and the delivery ends'of'tlie-bed. The fingers are mounted pivotally on'tli'e chain landare projected upwardly `through a longitudinal :slot in thebed whentliey are travelling with the upper" run ofthe YXtlaiiL'f'their 4angularposition relatively" to rthe chain being controlled hy guides. VThe cnai'ri runs at the receiving enfd'over fa-,p'ulley and at the delivery/ vend 'over' a gronp-jof'rotarona1 elements such asspro'ckets or pulleys. The` elements ofthe sa'idfgroiip are so arranged' that' e'aclinger '(1)' dwellszfor a short' interval'after reaching its end position, (2) isnex't 'with-V drawn' rearwardly' for 'a shr't distance andf'a') Vis, then rnoveddownwardly clear of theneXt following, article after; 'which it is carried rearvvar'dl'yY Ab'ythe Y loi/ver?, riiiiY of th'ecainjt,threeeiving end/crine machina' tck'ng operations of thin covering material ppliedto la rectangular article has been shown and. described.;

below thearticle are bent Backwards bythe upper plate andlbyt-an' edge tofxtle bedso, that one part is folded;

. Y in is.' A.. parearappiieaaon ser. No. roasts/1956," `Y now U.` S.'Ptent No. 2,722,094, a seriesof folding' and angle to the horizontal, means for feeding'fand cuttingot 2,774,205 Patented Dec. 18, 1956 2 underneachvann rhelothr-partabove the article..v The parts of the covering materialextending'sideways'arefsimil larly tucked By Ythe 'ends of the sideY folding plates leaving -uppe'r andllowe'r wings or edgesof coveringrn'aterial eiite'ndingilaterally.y During'further movement, ydown- Wardly inclined slots between twoparts of eachofftlre side folding plates turn down the upper edges of. thefcov. eringfnaterial. Still furtherl'movements leads Ythe upp'eri edges llof `the covering material. through upwardly inclined slotszprovidedionrfeach side by the side foldingplates;

wherebytfthe lower. edges` of the. covering material arefolded upwardly. Theforegoingxoperationsare' all iniaef s cordance with known prac'ti'ce'.

The fingerV whenA it' hasimo'ved the partially wrapped article into. its end; position, dwells -for a short interval, is

next withdrawn rearwardly. fora, shortv distance valndwisthenmovedfdownwardly clear of the next following article. The means-for.; eiecting such movements are disclosed in the aforementioned U; S. A. patent Vspecification No: 2,570,030. v i

Thefnal sidevtucleingandend folding operations by whichl the article is` completely wrapped are effected-'by side tuckers, while theV packet: isA stationary, andv by, a hanged top fplate anda fixed-barl orfedge during-movement of the` packet 'downwardly relatively Yto the bed. The mechanism Yfor'enecting; these final operations formsthe subject matter` claimed in the aforementioned U.'S A. patentapplication Ser; No. l62,83 5/'l950, now U. S. PatentNo. 2,722,094.

It'isanobject of thefinventionfin the construction of wrapping machines, toprovide ai bed along which flat on thin articlesV are pushed with an edge in Contact with the.

hed by lingers.. havinganoperative faceY inclined baclf.

wards at. an.V angle tofthe` Vertical to avoid instability. of

said, article while tucki'ng` and folding operations are carried ou'tg f Y Another object oifthe inventionjis the constructionof wrapping machines inv which the; bed is inclinedat` a,

substantial 4angle to the hcrizontalf and the articles-to be e ng`er's`extendin`g through'the said slo'tfa'ndbeing moved lengthwise ofthe hed' by' mechanism Vlocated tlrer'euiid Itis also an object oftheinvention to provide wrap g rriachi'nesV in 'which' articles to 'be' wrapped aremovefclfin. succession 'upwards "along aV hed inclined at a' substantial lengths Vof covering ina'terialfand' for carrying out-fside ach article together with a length-of coveringlmate-rial folding Eoperations are located along the 'bediend thefnal tnclrin'giand folding'op'ertions areeiected Awhen the-*part Y lyY wrapped articlereaches; the upper ven'dtofthe bed.`

'substantial angle' ofV` inclination ofthe bed'suchas 30 would in many-'-applications'jntroduce'a'sufficient gravitationahretarding component.V ,The ladditional fresi'stancestliu's exertedltothemovement'of the{articles err-v s'ures a-steadyprogressive movement 'Withoiit--afr`1y -k riskfof;

betteroutpitV lines'.klv At the upper output end', for

ample, rthe Ywrappe'd articles ma-y leave the inclined bedin a directronintially atrightfangles thereto. Y

-Astill further object 'of the'iinvention isl to facilitate y the'wrapping of thina'rticles suchA as .wafers andvenabl'e dat 'rectangular article'sfto be partly supported `byV oneedge on theiinc'linedl bed-andfals'o partly supported 'and moved'along Vtl1l=..bed'fby a'tlnger 'or operating. member l] ofithe"conveyorfengaging one-'of the atforilargefaces The placing. of the articles on edge with, their` smallest dimension parallel to thebed enables the fingers on the conveyor to be spaced more closely. The Vnumber of articles wrapped per minute may then be increased or the c'onveyor may be run more slowly.

A' stillgfu'rther object of the ,invention 1s Vtotfacilitatev the wrapping of articles of irregular shape.` .One straight edgeV only, not necessarily a at surface, isV required jon an article of 'irregular shape. YThe article is pushed up the inclined bedy bythe conveyor linger engaging this straight edgeor ilatV surface onrlwhichthe nalV tucking Y and folding voperations take place. lWith. some '.articl'es 'of irregular shape, folders and 'tuckers :couldvinsomre casesV be dispensed` with and other closing means :pro-

vided; foLeXample, means for. `gathering up v.thefree ends which may be such ,as is disclosed in our afoi'e-mentionedV application'Serial No. 162,835/ 1950, now U. S. Patent No. 2,722,094.

The jellies or other articles are moved upwards along the inclined bed in succession by a series of fingers 11 carried by an endlessV VchainA main conveyor (not shown) such as is disclosed 'in our Yafore-mentioned U. S. A. patent specification No.,2,5,7 O,3Q3,.`,'11`his main Y conveyor is located below the bed. All the operating com-.

of the wrapping material behind the article and thus Y closing the package. Inclined wrapping machines Twill Vinlfactrdealgvvith a much Vwiderirange of ditferentr'arti-V 'cles than 'horizontal machines; v f e J A still further object of the invention is the Yprovision of a substantially horizontal feed Vconveyor on which the articles are placed and then fed on to the lower end of o the inclined bed along which they are moved Vupwardly by the lingers vof the wrapping machine. Flat or thin articles Yare laid at on the feed conveyor and when dis'- ponents carrying out theicutting, Vfeedingand Wrappingrh operations are preferably driven fromafconrmon source.

of power.' l v Y .Y

The machine operators place'the uncovered jellies at on a feed conveyor-unit 6 shown iin-detail in Figures 2 and 3. This feed conveyor is preferably horizontal and is'held in Vposition by boltingiteat oneA end .7 to the lower r 'end of the inclinednbed land supporting it at the other Y Y Vend by.. an Vadjustable-strut -8.

" cludes two longitudinal sideV plates 9 lyingfin'vertical'A planes and Vconnected by'cross membersV VTwo side .platforms 12 aresupportedl on the. outersidesofthe :sidefI plates 9; VThe junctions between'the side plates 9 and the platforms 12 are covered by strips 10.

' VThe conveyor mounted between the side plates incharged therefrom areY tilted forwardly with one edge Y in contact with the bed so that the at surface of the article is then engaged by a backwardly inclined finger.

Astillfurther object of the invention is the wrapping Vof jellies which are of a yielding, elastic consistency with 'a somewhatfsticky surface to which the thin covering Vmaterial adheres and which tends to adherefto the parts of rectangular slabs in which the thickness-of lthevslabis e substantially less than either of the other dimensions andv 'Y one -of therlarge faces of the jelly is engaged by the surface of ya linger of the'main conveyor, a narrowV sicleor end surface being supported by the inclined bed, 1

. 1 Some or all of the constructions disclosed inumyrabovementionedprior applications could be utilisedin this machine according to requirements. Y p 1 'i3 Y f In theembodiment of the invention shown 'bygway Aof example in the'accompanyin'g drawings, the Vdifficulties associated with the Wrapping of jellies have beenV given Y, special consideration. The-machine in lwhich ,these Ydif-v ficulties have Vbeen overcome will, however, be'rsuitable Yfor `dealing with 1other articles particularly flat articles.

v Inthe drawings: ,A Y Y Figure lshows a side elevation ofthe. improved machine with a horizontal` feed conveyor Yand delivery arf` rangements; Y- Y, Y Figure 2 shows a part sectional side elevation of the horizontal feed conveyor and ofguiding means forthin coyeringmaterial;

Figure 3 showisfaplanof l"igure .2; Y Figure Y4 shows aqsidefelevation'offme cludes two endless chains 13v each running over a driving..

sprocket 14, a rear end'sprocketlSwhich may be ad-v justable to tension 'the' chain, a front sprocket or'roller,`

16Aand intermediate sprockets or rollers 17, 18 all -sup- Y portedY from the adjacent side plate 9.' The'twoV chains" `of the machine whether made Yof metaLpIaStiCor-other hard material. Y Such'jellies are commonly inthe shape rollers 24 mounted on'and between two longitudinal angle'V jV section members 25 supported from-the sideplate's`9fljy,k

cross members l26.V y Y '1 V.laterally .by-running` them'between two large diameter Vfree-running side rollers V27 which are'adjustable sideare driven in synchronism with the main conveyor chain through Va, Ychain V19 and Ysprockets 20, 21,. The chains `each carry a series of lingers 23 extending-inwards tothemforwardjin succession.l f Y Y wards one another so asV to engage the packets and move Y During Vtheir movements forward, the'ujellies moveV over a runway composed ofk closely-spaced.free-running TheV jelliesxbefore leaving therollers v24 kare positioned Ways to `suit jellies'rorr packets of lany,,widthjyvithin the lirnits'of the machine. The peripheries of the side rollers are grooved Vcircumferentially to reduce the Vrisleof stick- Y' in g. The rollers 24 may be arranged with vtheirrvupper sui'.-V faces at a lower level than the Vchains 13. Withjthis arrangement, the chains guideandV preventlateral spreading ofthe Yjellies. The side rollers 27 .are then unnecessary. VThe jellles next run over a series of'closely-spacedfreerunning rollers 28 of smaller diameter, the last-few rollersV 29 providing a downwardslop'e which tips the-Ajelliesjorl- .Y

- wardinto such Ya position thatthey'caubeen'gagediby a' chanism iatk i delivery end ofthe machinewith er operating means g Y and associated mechanism omittjeand Y y I `.Figure `5 shows a view ofthe delivery'end lookingink Y thedire'ction of the arrow'A of Figure'ft. 1 f

U. S.;A. patentspecication Serial No. 2,5864,62`andY Y QU.V S. A. patent applicationrSerial No.262,'126/ 1951,

now U. S. Patent No. 2,722,275.. The bed also supportsY the side folding apparatus comprising vpla'tesrorgu'ides 4 andthe final tucking, folding anddelivery,mechanismv linger 11 of the main conveyor and carried upwards along "the inclinedY bed. YV'l`he`end rollers V28, 29`arersuppo'rted independently ofthe rollers 24'o'n theendof an arm'30,

theotherf'end of whichis vsecured to cross'zer'ne'mbers 131y Y extending between the side plates 9 of the conveyorunit.'V

i `Di1ring Ythe .first partV ofthe` upward .movement along Y therinclined bed,` thelower edge of eachV jelly runszovera furtherfs'e'ries of closely-spacedefreerunning rollersZ whichY extend Valong the bed a'sj far as they planefof liroye-.

. mentof'the, eoveringgmaterial 14 downwards intogthe pox cut olf Vlength ofjcovering materialextendingjintogthe, transversel gap 3g in they bed'. Beyondrthis position, the., lower-@supporting edges of; lthe :jelly are covereclfby theV i Ycovering materialv and ,will ,slideY 'more' .easilyoverithe V `V'sn'iooth netal .surfaeeoffthe bed rs'o'thatV rollers,aref-no, 7'

longer 'y necessary` toreduce thefijesistancefto movement, Y-

.Y The'rollers 312v arelarranged in*V two, parallel series withY a"Y 1 Y gap33 between them. YThey'are locatedgwithin5a wide opening 22 lin, thebe'd extending'rearwardlyor down-Y wardlyfromfthegap 36 fand'theirrupper surfaces'standY slightly abovelthe upper surfaceioftheibed'. V`:'1`hefrolle1's TheY conveyor unita in-V 32-rotate freely. on spindles whichare overhunginwardly towardsfone anotherffrom:supportingmemberscarriedI by. and running parallel Itto/the` bedl -ofv the machiner The rollers in eaChseries-.are heldvagainst movementlengthwiseY of 'their-overhung spindles by af longitudinalretainingA strip 35 Y eng-aging circumferential: grooves-in the rollers. j

Thefuprightspart ofsthe conveyor finger 11 is so shaped that the finger straddledsthesingle rowoendrollersfZfL` 29asit1rnovesfinto'Y position to engage a jelly. The -inger includes a hat-rearwardly extendingv part-11a securedY to theupper end'of-a'narrow stem/(not shown),.whichpasses along-the gapii?)Y as'the jelliesfarefmovedforwardsand then along the longitudinal slot33a in the bedduring furthermovement. Y Y During their furthermovement upwards along the bedV of the-machine betweenthe VerticalV side. plates or guides 4 havingl inclined folding lslots. 37- ot known type, the covering material at then sidesAV is tucked in and folded downwardsV and upwards. The` side plates- 4 may bel grooved leavinglongitudinal projectionsy to reducefriction and alloweasier movement` in'view ofk possible de-v formation of-the sidesf of. theljellyA slabs 5. Y

The top plate 3S closing thechannel alonglwfhichthe slabsmove maybe-made ofllight material5 for example; af suitable plastic material,v softhat it may liftz slightly Vifthejelly slabs-bulge upwardly. l l

The thin coveringmaterialV 14- is-fed downwards. in an inclineddirection perpendicular to the bed lby the feed rollers 42 inthe feeding and cutting assembly 3 asfshownijn-Figures 2- and 3.a In the present construction the covering materiall 14,*after passing rdownwardsY between thecutters 43, bears. lightly, due to theforce of Y gravity,A against guidesl44-projectingupwards from thebed, the guides beingv4 located atfopposite sides of the article Yso as.t to-clear.' the-article. When-.a length-ofmaterial-.is cutoff.; itis heldby the :front-edge'of'the'moving-packet; The side guides 44are generally perpendicular-'to the-.bed :1 but have an upperinclined leading-onpart 45. The' covering. material i4 is thus "prevented fromsagging- ,downwards'tof wards the approaching article 'as -it is fed across ythe space between the cutters"45 and thefbed- 1,.V A steadyguided movementof the 'covering material thus-takes -placef avoidingris'ks of wasters;V 'Y

:When each-'jellyrea'chesits final-position just beyond the end of the bed, its lower edge bears Iupon two--pivoted resiliently-supported tongues as disclosed in our aforementioned application Ser..No. 162,835/ 1950, -Patent No. 2,722,094. e Y n Y e It is necessary/,with thelpresent inclined-bed machine that thejellyS or other article shallbe`held against any tendency to tiltbackwards or to stick to theV mainl conveyor finger `11 when thenger is withdrawn.i,- With this and other objects in yiew theY central part-fof each linger is cutaway leaving a space 49 into whichja holding finger 50 may be moved before the conveyor nger 1i!` isfwithdrawn; YThe 'holding ting r YSillnand `the mechanismoperating it'areshownipFigures Aand 5.` Y Y Thepspacef'49 formed in thegconvreyor fingerY also "poffsesses the ladvantage that it tends to counteract the tend ency to lateral spreading or other distortion of the slab of jelly 5 during the operation of themachine, since the bulging of the jelly into the said space reduces the amount of bulging which would otherwise take place at the sides.

With the object of reducing sticking of the jelly to theV metal or other material, the conveyor nger and the holding flngermay be drilled at intervals, the holes 51 being preferably countersunk.

The holding finger 5l? is carried on the bent lower end of an arm 53 secured at its upper end toa spindle 54 carried in a bearing 55 supported from the bed 1 by a bracket 56. The bracket 56 having stiffening ribs 57 is bolted to the sides of the bed of the machine. On one end of the pivot mounting is secured a short arm 60 connected by a link 5S to cam operating mechanism driven from the 6Srbears upon the cam surface andV is kept in Contact Y therewith by a tension spring67f The forked end of. the linke'engages a roller 'carried'on theshavft A63'wherehyf the' camv rollerr 66is main-tained ina position to. engagethe cam surfaces. The mechanism is shownin. both: its operative and inoperative positions... In the.operativetm-y sitionshowh inchain lines with the rholding .finger 5U lengagin'gthe face of the jelly, the` cam roller 66 engages. the

p'art 65ofvthecarn-surfacel of smaller radius,.while inthe inoperative position shown Ain full the roller 66'engages the part 64'ofthe cam surface'o largerradius and. the holdingtinger 5'0 is lie'ld'r'well` clearrofthe. following jellyor packet n'ext to be dealt with.. 'lhe'inoperative timev period/is, of course, much longer vthan the very short operativeperiodl v i The partially Vwrappedpacket,V when in position for. the nal tucking and folding, operations, is yalso held by. adjustable side plates 6'9'andby an adjustable end'pl-ate 701 These plates are mounted'anda-djusted similarly. to; the plates Icar-ryingliolding. brushes as. described in my Iaforo-mentioned application Ser. No. 162,835/19'50; PatentNo. 1722094'.

.The wrapped packet is iin'ally pushed downwards 'by the llanged top plate 7.1 c-arnied'by an arm 72'. connected to afflinearly guided member 73 and=runs down a curved delivery path havingrollers 74. The member 7 3' is guided verticallyby four pairs of,balllfrearings.75r and is moved bymieclianism, not sho-wn, in timed relationship to other; tpart'sfof. the Ynlac'h-ine. The 'packets are `guidedonto the -cur'vedde'liverypatliby a downwardextension fof the end v plate 7.01nd'byl side'guidingplates.76 which -carry the side plates' 69a-nd, }are supported by laterally .adjustable members 771V i l The, Vlmeohal'lism '-at'vtlie delivery end off the machine isf protected byside shields 78'as shownfin'Figure 1. These shields 'are' omitted from Figure 4.

l. Wrappingrmach-ine 4for covering "lator thnarti-cles. in succession with thin materialy comprising in' combination; a fbedinclined to the horizontalV andv having 'a longitudinal 'slot passing therethrough; tfingers, extending: throughfsaid slot, the operative face of cachot saidngers extending. `above said bed being inclined 'backwardsl at an angle to theve'rtical to engage aflat face of. saidv article;V mechanism located below said fbed and. adapted to movesaid ingers lengthwise of the |bed whereby each-v nger. moves .an article along the bed in opposition to aretardiiigf. force d-ueto a component of theforce ofv gravity and to frictionalresistance between an edge` of the" artile vand the .bedj means -for feeding a stripof. cloverig material`towards said bed; means for cuttingVV ott.'

a'length' ofV saidmaterial in fronto'f said..atticlejfand-V means for carrying vnuftuckin-g and foldingoperations thereafter. i v d 'i Y e 2. Wrapping machinesffor covering at or thin articles in succession with thin material as claimed -in Vclaim 1, comprising in combination therewith a ysubstant-ially horizontal feeding conveyor including longitudinally spaced operating fingers \for feeding the articles towardsY the lower end ofthe inclined bed, a series of closely-spaced freely-rotatable rollers upon which the articles run, lan inclined series of closely-spaced freely-rotatable rollers at the delivery end of the feed conveyor adapted to tilt the articles forwardly in succession so that an edge of each article bears upon the inclined bed, in readiness yfor engagement Iby one of said backwardly inclined spaced Y fingers whereby the article is moved upwardly along the inclined bed.

3. Wrapping-machines for covering at or lthin Iarticles in Vsuccession with thin material Vas claimed in'claim 1, comprising :in combinationtherewith a substantially horizontal feeding conveyor comprising twoparallel endless chains and longitudinally spaced conveyor lingers extending upward-ly from the chains, a iirst series of closelyspaced freely-'rotatable rollers 'between the 'chains over which rollers Ythe 'articles are adapted to move, lateral extensions from the `said conveyor lingers extending over Y the rollers wherebyY each article .is moved forward, a

second Vseries of closely-spaced freely-rotatable rollers pro, Y

viding an inc-lined runway adapted to -tilt Vthe articles downwardly wherebyY :an edge thereot` 'engages' the inyclined bed, -U-shap'ed surfacesjon lsaid lbackwardly inclined lingers adapted to move the Varticles upwardly along the. inclined 'bed1 the said U-shape'd 'surfaces beinga'dapted to Vstraddle the said second series of rollers; `anda third series of two parallelclosely-'spacedfreely-rotatableroll-- ersmountedwith their uppersurfaces slighlyabove the upper surface Vof the saidbed so as to support'the low- A ermost edge jot theearticle'until the said yedge is-cov ered :by the wrapping material, the stems of the backwardly inclined lingers extending through a Vgap between thetwo sets of rollers of the said third series.

' Yil. Wrapping machine forV coveringgiiatfor `thin articles in succession with thin-material'comprising in'combination; a bed inclined at an angle tothe horizontal; lon-githeV lower end bof the said inclined bed, aseries of closely'- spaced freelyerotatable rollersi uponU Vwhichflat faces ofV Y the articles Ibear and an' inclined seriesfof.closely-space@V freely-.rotatable rollers ,at the delivery end ofV the'jfeed' Y conveyorY adapted to tilt the articlesY forwardly so' tha-t,

Yan edgeY of Ythe artic-le bears upon ther inclined Lbed, each. article being thereby positioned so that a at'face'thereof may beengaged-bypnerof said spaced fbackwar'dly Vinclined lingers whereby the article is movedinprgvardly.

along theinclivnredbed. l, f '@5. /Wrapping machine fordcoveringator thin'articles in succession with thin material comprising in combinai' tion;ra fbed inclined at an angle. toV thejhorizontal; longitudinally spaced ylingers 'each having a forwardop'erative face inclinedbackwardsat a substantial angle' to the verti-Y 6.*Wrappin`g machine as cla-imedin `claim Y5, comprising mechanism which -moves the holding linger between its operative and inoperative positions in correct relation to the movements of the 'backwardly'inclinedllingers 75 Wrapping machine -for covering Yilrat or thin articles -in succession with thin material comprising in combination; a Ibed inclined to the horizontal and having a ,longitudin'al slot pass-ing therethrough;v lingers extending throughV saidfslotQthe operativeffaceof each of said 10 lingers extend-ing Vabove -said bed being inclined backwardsat' an angle to the vertical-to engage a at face of saidV article;Y mechanism located below said bed and Vadapted to move,V74 said Ifingers lengthwise of the Ibed wherebycach dingerY 'moves .an article along the bed-'in opposition to aretarding force due to a'component Aof the forceof i,gravity and-,to frictional resistance between an edge of lthe'article Vand the bed; means forfeedinga strip of covering material towards said bed; means for cutting ola length of said material in front of said article;V a tbaclcwardly inclined guide for the strip fof coveringv material located fon-.each sideof the Vinclined* bed,V the guides being so* spaced apart as to engage and siip- Y port the sides of the strip to prevent sagging thereofdue ito the inclination of lthe said strip, la clear passage being left between the guides for the movementof the article upwardly along the ybed ofthe machine. -f

' 8. Wrapping machineffor covering-flat or thin articles in successionV with Vthin material :comprising in combination; a bed inclinedat an angle to Vtherhorizontal; 'longitudinally spaced fingers each having aforward operativeV vfacrfin'clined backwards at Va's'u-bstantialtangle toV *the* verticaland adapted-to engage aflat face of, and partially Y support, an article; mechanismgadapted to move sia-idl spaced'ngers lengthwise-'upwardly along the b ed;vmeans for cafrryinggout the Vseveral tu'cking: -and folding opera-j tions necessary'ito cover-the art-ielegfa substantially liori- Y zontalV feedingfconv'eyor including longitudinally-spaced operating fingers for feeding theA articles towardslthe lower Y' endcf the-said inclinedbed .ad-series of closelyspaced freely-'rotatable',rollers upon `whichiiat faces of the arti- Vcles`fbear;1and a'runway formedfby a-series of freely mountedY transverse rollersextending upwardlyalong part of thelbed andhaving their upper surfaces slightly above the plane of the bed whereby the lowermostedge of peach article 'is supported by `said roller'sduring part of its movement along the support, ian article; mechanism `adaptiedjto,` moveY said, spaced lingers lengthwise Yupwardly'along the bedgfmeans' for carrying ont the several tlickingiand folding Vopera-V tions necessary to'cover ythearticle; and' a holding finger engaging -the rear face of eacharticle overanvare'ajnot' coverediby'the'ffoperatingsurface of a. longitudinally spaced tingerwhile the iinal'tuclingand'folding o era;- h

References Cited inthefile"o'f-this'patentl lUNITED STATESfPATENrs J Dee-29; 1891 

